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Conan O’Brien may be better known for the occasional good-humored gay joke he cracks for his audience, but the ULC Monastery’s newest celebrity minister has proved to be a true supporter of social justice cause. On Thursday, O’Brien took advantage of New York State’s Marriage Equality Act to officiate a same-sex wedding in New York. The ULC Monastery couldn’t be happier with O’Brien’s clear public support for marriage equality.

The host of TBS’s Conan recently revealed to TheWashington Post his reason for deciding to get ordained online and take his show to New York City’s Beacon Theater was to officiate the wedding–but it remained unclear who the lucky couple was. Now the Post reports, America’s beloved ginger comic will be marrying the show’s long time costume designer, Scott Cronick, to his partner David Gorshein on air during the show. The ceremony will be the first of its kind as well: O’Brien told The Post, “[t]his will be the first, I believe, same-sex wedding performed on late night television”. So, people have yet another good reason to tune in to the lightheartedly self-deprecating comic’s late night show.

It was originally rumored that the flame-haired comic decided to become a minister and perform the ceremony as part of a publicity stunt to boost the show’s ratings, which have fallen since he left NBC. However, it is wise not to jump to that conclusion, according to the Web site Vulture, show sources have suggested that the event is actually a quite serious and meaningful affair. His intentions should be taken seriously not only because the ceremony is being held in New York (and is therefore legal), but also because Cronick is a longtime staffer of the show. For those reasons it seems fair to treat the Conan ceremony as a genuine validation of same-sex affection.
And for that we are grateful. The ULC Monastery would like to congratulate Cronick and Gorshein on their new life together and to thank O’Brien for showing so much support for the gay and lesbian community. We hope to see many more quirky, offbeat ceremonies from the inimitable humorist for years to come–and a boost to those ratings, to boot.